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Alaska regulators continue pressing BLM Lack of clarity on whether Wainwright gas wells had proper blowout prevention equipment could lead to public hearing, AOGCC warns Wesley Loy For Petroleum News
For months now, Alaska drilling regulators have been asking federal officials to prove they used the required blowout prevention equipment on a series of test wells near the remote village of Wainwright.
Thus far the issue remains unresolved — and it might be intensifying.
The latest twist: Commissioners with the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission are threatening to hold a public inquiry in the conflict with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
“In an effort to maintain a constructive relationship between State and Federal regulatory bodies, the AOGCC is extending the Bureau of Land Management one final opportunity to demonstrate that BLM’s Wainwright wells number 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 were drilled with appropriate blowout prevention equipment,” said a Dec. 9 letter to BLM officials in Anchorage. “To date BLM has declined to provide the requested information. This correspondence marks AOGCC’s final request prior to proceeding to convene a public hearing on the matter.”
The letter was copied to Alaska’s congressional delegation, Gov. Sean Parnell and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
How it started Since the summer, the AOGCC has been trying to verify whether the BLM and its partners used a safety device known as a diverter on wells drilled to test for coalbed gas near the northwest Alaska village of Wainwright.
The drilling project is a joint effort involving the BLM, the U.S. Geological Survey, the North Slope Borough and Arctic Slope Regional Corp.
The Wainwright issue broke open on June 22 when the AOGCC hit the BLM with a “notice of violation,” saying the federal agency appeared to be in violation of state regulations in drilling the wells without the required safety equipment, and improperly securing suspended wells.
In response to letters from the AOGCC, officials with the BLM have attempted to supply proof that the diverter was used on at least some wells.
On Nov. 16, the BLM supplied the AOGCC with drill site photos as evidence of the use of the diverter during the Wainwright project’s 2007 and 2008 drilling seasons.
“I hope this information is helpful and provides the clarification you are seeking,” wrote Julia Dougan, the BLM’s acting state director.
Unsatisfactory response Commission Chairman Dan Seamount, in the AOGCC’s Dec. 9 letter back to Dougan, said the photos were insufficient, as they were taken at Wainwright wells 1 and 8.
Seamount wrote: “Neither of these wells was included in the AOGCC’s notice of violation; the wells for which AOGCC requested documentation of diverter usage were the Wainwright No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 wells.”
Seamount set a deadline of Jan. 31 for the BLM to show its wells were drilled with the proper blowout prevention gear.
The AOGCC has authority to regulate drilling statewide, whether on federal, state or private land. Its relations with the BLM have been tenuous for some time, with the commission questioning the federal agency’s handling not only of the Wainwright wells but also dozens of old “legacy wells” on Alaska’s North Slope.
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